Transcendent Bonds
by nhaer042
Summary: A series of one-shots about my OC Shane Denei and his rather unusual upbringing. The ME games will serve as a backdrop but will not be the main focus. Rating may change over time.
1. Chapter 1

My first attempt at an OC. Don't really have a plan with this story. Just a series of one-shots for me to flex my writing muscles. I'm going to try something a little odd with this story though. Tell me what you think. I'm open to ideas and criticisms.

Bioware owns Mass Effect.

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Transcendent Bonds

Chapter 1

**June 20, 2170**

Linora sat in the doctor's office shaking nervously. The asari waited anxiously for the doctor to return with her test results. She had been gone for ten minutes. It felt like twenty. She hopelessly tried to keep herself still. The wait was eating away at her. Finally the doctor came in.

"I'm back with the results," said the asari doctor.

"How does it look?" asked Linora. The doctor was quiet for a moment as she thought of how to properly answer her patient's question.

"Well," the doctor started, "it doesn't look good. You have a rare condition that hinders your ability to reproduce."

"You mean like an Ardat-Yakshi?" asked Linora, her eyes widening in horror.

"No, no! Not quite like that," said the doctor quickly. "Nothing quite so serious, but still not good. Essentially, when you try to mate, you don't properly attune to your partner which prevents your daughter from properly developing."

"So I can't have children?" asked Linora.

"None that won't be stillborn I'm sad to say."

"Is there any way to treat this?"

"Unfortunately, this is so rare that there is no way to treat it," she explained. Linora hung her head. She had just come in for a checkup and now she was finding out she could never have children. Just one more reason to hate going to the doctors. She stood up and started to leave.

"Where are you going?" asked the doctor.

"Back to work. I need to take my mind off this," Linora said. She was out of the office before the doctor could say anything. She walked down the streets of the Citadel ignoring everyone else on the streets. This was the worse news she had ever gotten. She had often thought about starting a family someday but now those hopes were shattered. She made her way to her office a C-Sec and started getting to work.

"Linora!" came a voice from behind her. Linora turned around to see her golden brown colored turian with red clan markings stand over her.

"Hm, what?" asked Linora.

"I called your name three times," said Vilnus.

"Sorry, Vilnus" said Linora. "I. . .I just got back from the doctor's office."

"You look down," said Vilnus. "Something go wrong?"

"I found out I can't have kids," she said. Vilnus' mandibles flared in surprise.

"Linora, I. . .I'm so sorry," said Vilnus putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "You want to talk?"

"N-no," said Linora, "I just want to be alone for a while."

"I can probably cover for you if you want to take the day to yourself," Vilnus offered.

"Thanks, but I need to work. I got to take my mind off all of this."

"Right. Well, if you need me. . ."

"Thanks, Vilnus," said Linora, giving him a weak smile. She turned back to her terminal and started to work.

* * *

**June 25, 2170**

"What's the damage?" asked the Alliance commander to a soldier. The two men stood in the ruins of the colony of Mindoir. Batarian raiders just hit the colony, leaving it a wreck, most of the citizens dead, and some of them captured. Only a small handful of people were left.

"It's extensive commander," said the soldier. "It will take a long time to rebuild, but I don't think it will ever be the same to the survivors."

"Speaking of which, who's left?" asked the commander.

" About thirty, sir. Most are adults," answered the soldier. "There's one teenager, Shepard, I think his name was. There's also a young boy left. About eight or so. His parents were killed in the raid."

The commander shook his head solemnly. "I hate this job sometimes. I doubt any of the people here can take care of the orphans. We can take them to the Citadel. I'm sure there's an adoption agency who will take them. Show me where the kids are."

"Yes sir," said the soldier. He led them to one of the few building left standing. The commander entered the building and saw the two boys. One was a teenager with a fresh scar over his left eye. The younger boy sat by him.

"You alright?" asked the commander. "That seems like a pretty nasty scar."

"I'm fine," said the teenager.

"My name is David," said the commander. "You must be Shepard." The teen nodded and David turned his attention to the younger boy. He knelt down in front of him and smiled softly. "And what's your name, son?"

"Shane," answered the young boy. "Are you here to help us? Can you tell me where my parents are?" David's eyes widened in surprise. He looked over at Shepard who averted his gaze.

"Shane," David started to say. "I don't know how to tell you this, but. . .your parents. They didn't make it." Shane was quiet. David put a firm hand on Shane's shoulder. The boy looked up, tears welling up in his eyes. "Shane, I know this going to be hard, but you need to be strong, alright?" Shane nodded in response. "Good. Let's get you out of here."

* * *

**September 12, 2170**

Three months had passed since Linora had gotten the news of her infertility. She finally decided that if she couldn't have her own children then she would adopt one. There were plenty of children who needed a loving home and she wanted to give that to at least one. She stepped into the orphanage and approached the front desk. A human female was sitting behind the desk looking over something on her terminal.

"Excuse me," said Linora. The woman snapped her attention to the asari.

"Oh, hello," said the woman. She looked at her terminal then back at Linora. "You must be Miss Denei," she said as she stood up and shook the asari's hand. "My name is Katelyn. Let me show you around." Linora followed Katelyn to a room full of young children of various ages and species. "Was there any child in particular you were looking for?"

"I'll know when I meet the right one," answered Linora. "I don't really mind what species the child is."

"Oh," said Katelyn. "That's interesting. Most people are rather particular on what species the child is. They usually want something close to home."

"These are children without homes," said Linora. "They should have one regardless of what species they are."

"Indeed. Well, feel free to look around and meet the children. See if you get along with any of them." Linora nodded as she entered a large playroom where the children were playing. Most took notice of her while others didn't seem to notice. They soon went back to their various activities. Linora observed the children seeing if there were any she might get along with. After a few minutes, she saw a young human boy she didn't notice before. He sat alone at a small table in the corner of the room fiddling with something in his hands. Linora became curious and approached the table. The boy looked up as Linora sat across from him. He had short black hair and deep blue eyes. His face was expressionless as he examined her purple face and green eyes.

"Hello," greeted Linora.

"Hi," said the boy softly.

"What's your name?"

"Shane," he answered. He still fiddled with the object in his hands a bit.

"What do you have there?" asked Linora.

"A locket," answered Shane. "It was my mom's." He opened it up revealing a picture of himself and his parents.

"Your mother was very pretty," said Linora.

"Yeah," said Shane sadly. "She died when raiders destroyed my home." Linora's eyes widened. She had heard about a colony being hit a couple of months ago.

"I'm sorry to hear that." She noticed the small human wipe a tear from his eye.

"I miss them," said Shane.

"I'm sure you do." It was quiet for a moment. " If it's any consolation, I know what it's like to lose a parent."

"Really?" asked Shane.

"Yes," answered Linora. "My dad was a turian in C-Sec. He died when I was a teenager. A salarian killed him while he was on duty."

"Must have been hard," said Shane sympathetically.

"Yeah. I at least had my mother, though. We got through it together."

"I don't have anyone," said Shane bluntly.

"What if I could help you with that?" asked Linora.

"You would adopt me?" asked Shane. "A human?"

"I don't mind that you're human. You need a home and I want to give you one."

"Don't asari usually have daughters?"

Linora smile as she leaned closer to him. "Between you and me," she whispered, "I always kind of wanted a son." Shane chuckled a bit. Linora sat up in her seat. "So what do you say? You want to be a family?" A small smile crept on to Shane's face as he nodded in agreement.

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Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**October 20, 2170**

Linora sat back in her chair at her desk. She was tired after nothing but filing reports and boring patrols around the Presidium. She wished she was back in the Wards where all the action was but someone had to make sure the Presidium was kept safe from harm. A lack of any sort of C-Sec presence would surely encourage someone to attack. But now her shift was over and it was someone else's problem. She left the C-Sec offices and headed to her skycar. She started to head for her house when she suddenly remembered something important.

"Shane!" she shouted aloud. She quickly turned around and headed to pick up her son. She arrived at the elementary school where her son attended. She went inside at approached the receptionist's desk.

"Excuse me," said Linora. The asari at the desk looked up. "I'm here for Shane Denei."

"Oh, hello, Miss Dinei," greeted the teacher. "Shane is in the cafeteria with some of the other students. Just down the hall. The two big doors on the left."

"Thank you," said Linora. She went down the hallway past various classes until she found the cafeteria. She went inside and saw about eight students still waiting for their parents. She scanned the room and found Shane at a table with a turian boy with copper colored scales.

"Shane," called Linora. Shane looked up and smiled when he saw his mother. He said goodbye to his friend and walked up to his mom.

"Hey, Mom," greeted Shane.

"Hey, sweetie," greeted Linora. "Sorry, I'm late. Ready to go?" Shane nodded in response. They went back to the skycar and left the school.

"So how was your day?" she asked.

"Good," answered Shane.

"Who was your friend?" she inquired. Shane had been having a little trouble making friends since he started school and she was glad to see him interacting with other kids.

"Dexicus. He let me call him 'Dex,' though. He's a new student. Today was his first day."

"Is he in your class?"

"Yeah. The teacher set him next to me. He's really cool."

"Well, I'm glad you made a friend. So what do you want to do for dinner today?"

"Pizza!" said Shane excitedly.

"What's pizza?" asked Linora. Shane's eyes widened in shock and his mouth dropped agape. "What?" asked Linora trying not to laugh at the face her son was making.

"It's the best food ever!" explained Shane. "I heard that new human restaurant they made has some. It's awesome!" Linora smiled at her son's explanation.

"Alright then, pizza it is. So where is this new restaurant?"

* * *

Linora sipped at her soda while she and Shane waited for their order. She had never had a soda before. It was really good. She wondered why she never tried one before. The restaurant was fairly small and out of the way from the busy streets of the Wards. As such there weren't a whole lot of people in the building. Linora quickly noticed she was the only non-human in the restaurant. She got a couple of suspicious glares but ignored them. She heard Shane trying to suck the remnants of his soda out of his glass.

"I'm pretty sure the waiter will get you another glass if you ask him, honey," she told him.

"Hmph," grunted Shane. "It's been forever since he was here before."

"It's been five minutes," said Linora.

"Oh. Really?"

"Really," chuckled Linora. "Do you have a lot of homework tonight?"

"Not a whole lot. We have to do multiplication for math though. Can you help me when we get home?"

"Absolutely," said Linora, smiling. She was always happy when Shane let her help him with something. "Multiplication still giving you trouble?"

"A little. I hate math."

"You'll get the hang of it, hon." She looked around the restaurant to see if she could spot the waiter. "Wonder what's taking the food so long to get here." Shane's stomach growled in hunger.

"Hope it gets here soon," said Shane. As if on cue, the waiter arrived with a large pizza and put it on the table. He also replaced Shane's empty glass of soda with a full one.

"Sorry, it took so long," the waiter apologized. "I hope you enjoy."

"Thank you," said Linora. The waiter nodded and left them to their meal. Linora looked at the pizza. "What are these red circles?"

"Pepperoni," answered Shane. He grabbed a slice of the pizza and put it on his plate.

"And are these brown things the sausage?"

"Yep." Shane took a large bite of his slice and followed it with a large sip of soda.

"And what's all this white stuff?"

"The cheese. C'mon try a bite, Mom," he encouraged. Linora looked between him and the pizza nervously before grabbing a slice. She looked at him and raised a brow. Shane smiled as he waited for her to take a bite.

"Here goes nothing I guess." She closed her eyes and took a bite from the pizza. The cheese stretched out as she pulled the slice away from her mouth. Shawn laughed as she tried to break off the cheese strings.

"Do you like it?" asked Shane.

"It's good," she said. "But what's this red stuff?"

"Tomato sauce," Shane answered. Linora nodded as she took another bite. "This pizza stuff is good. Can you put other stuff on it."

"Yeah. You can just about anything on them."

"I see. Maybe I can get one with some asari food on it." Shane just shrugged as he continued to eat his pizza.

* * *

"So can you tell me what eight times three is?" asked Linora.

"Twenty-four?" answered Shane nervously.

"Very good," she congratulated. Shane smiled as he wrote the answer down on his homework datapad.

"I'm all done now," Shane announced. "Can we watch cartoons now?"

"You can," said Linora. "I have some things I need to get done for work."

"You can't watch with me?" asked Shane, disappointed.

"I got to get this stuff done, honey."

"Can I help you?" offered Shane.

Linora smile. "I'm afraid not. My homework's a little more complicated than yours," she joked.

"Okay," said Shane as he went over to the couch. Linora could tell Shane was disappointed that she couldn't watch some vids with him. She went upstairs to her room, grabbed a datapad, and headed back downstairs to the living room. She sat next to Shane on the couch. "Don't you have work to do?" he asked.

"I can work down here tonight," she told him. Shane smiled and leaned his head on his mother's shoulder.

Two hours later, Linora finally finished the work she needed to get done. She looked at Shane who had fallen asleep. She smiled softly as she gently laid him on the couch. She tucked a pillow under his head and put a quilt over him. She gave him a gentle kiss on his brow.

"Sleep well, honey," she said softly.

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Thanks for reading. Remember I'm open to suggestions and criticisms


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**November 4, 2170**

"Shane, c'mon let's get going," came Linora's voice from downstairs.

"Coming, Mom," shouted Shane as he grabbed his second sneaker and pulled it on his foot. He then grabbed his soccer ball from off his bed and headed downstairs. Linora was standing by the door waiting for him. "I'm ready."

"You sure?" Linora asked with a smirk as she pointed at Shane's feet. He looked down and noticed his left shoe was untied.

"Whoops." He bent down and quickly tied it. "Now I'm ready!"

"Good, let's go." The two got into their skycar and headed to a park on the Presidium. The two got out of the car and were greeted by Dexicus.

"Shane!" shouted the young turian as he ran up to them. Linora noticed that Dex lacked any clan markings.

"Hey, Dex!" greeted Shane. "I brought my soccer ball with me." He tossed the ball to Dex who examined it closely.

"What are we supposed to do with it?" asked Dex.

"You're suppose-"

"Dexicus!" shouted the voice of an older turian. Dex looked behind him as said turian approached. "Don't run off like that."

"Vilnus?" asked Linora. "You know Dexicus?"

"Hey, Lin," greeted Vilnus. "Dexicus is my nephew. His mom got called into work on short notice so I'm looking after him."

"Spending your day off babysitting, huh?" teased Linora.

"Better than sitting at home bored," said Vilnus.

"True. Did Dex's mother happen to tell you I was dropping Shane off here while I run some errands?"

"Yeah, she mentioned it. I'll keep an eye on him."

"Thanks," said Linora. She knelt down in front of Shane. "You behave for Vilnus, understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," answered Shane.

"And be careful where you're kicking that soccer ball. I don't want you accidentally hitting someone in the face with it." Shane nodded in response. "Okay, then I'll be back to pick you up in a couple of hours." She kissed him on his brow and stood up. "Have fun, honey," she said as she headed back to her car.

"Bye, Mom," said Shane. Linora got in her car and flew off towards the Commons.

"What's that you got there, Dexicus?" asked Vilnus, pointing at the soccer ball.

"It's Shane's," answerd Dex. "He said it was a soccer ball. I still have no idea what it's supposed to do."

"I'll show you."

* * *

"Hah, scored again!" boasted Shane. Dex grumbled in frustration as he picked up the soccer ball. The two boys found that a couple of soccer goals had been set up at the park and had spent the past half hour playing as Vilnus watched.

"You're a lot faster than me," said Vilnus. "Let's switch. I wanna see if I can kick the ball past you."

"Ha! Good luck," taunted Shane. The two switched places. Shane stood just outside the goal ready to block any shots Dex threw at him. Dex set the ball on the ground and took a few steps back. He focused on the goal as he ran up to the ball and kicked it as hard as he could. The ball soared over the net landing on the bench a couple of yards behind it.

"Ow!" came a cry from one of the bench's occupants.

"Uh-oh," said the two boys in unison. Vilnus stood up and approached the two boys.

"C'mon you two, let's go," he told them.

"Where?" asked Dex.

"To go apologize to whoever you just hit with the ball," he answered.

"Do we have to?" asked Shane. Vilnus gave him a disapproving look.

"Yes. Now come on," said Vilnus as he grabbed the two boys' shoulders and led them over to the bench where the ball landed. A light green salarian women and her son sat on the bench. The younger emerald colored salarian rubbed the back of his head crying profusely. "Excuse me," said Vilnus.

"Yes," asked the salarian women annoyed.

"My nephew and his friend were the ones who kicked the ball at your son's head. They would like to apologize." Shane and Dex shifted nervously. The salarian boy looked at them as he tried to hold his tears back.

"Umm. . .sorry," apologized Dex.

"Yeah, sorry," followed Shane. "It was an accident."

"We didn't mean to hit anyone with the ball," said Dex. The salarian woman looked between the two boys and smiled.

"Well, thank you for apologizing," said the woman content with the boys' apology.

"Are you okay?" Shane asked the boy.

"I'll be okay," said the boy as he wiped his tears away with his sleeve.

"Hey, do you want to come play with us?" The salarian boy looked at his mother.

"Can I?" he asked.

"I suppose you can for a little while," said the woman. "Go have fun."

"Thank you, mother," said the boy as he got off the bench. The three boys headed back to the soccer goals with Vilnus following behind.

"My name's Shane," said Shane to the salarian. "This is Dex. What's your name?"

"Lirien," answered the salarian. "Nice to meet you. So what is this game you were playing?"

"Well show you." Shane tossed the ball to Dex and headed for the goal. Dex set the ball back on the ground and stood behind it.

"I'm going to try and kick it past him," explained Dex.

"Don't kick it so hard this time," Shane shouted to him. Lirien rubbed the back of his head.

"Right," said Dex. He chuckled nervously as he took a couple of steps back from the ball. Again he ran towards it and kicked it, but not as hard as before. The ball headed straight for the goal only to be blocked by Shane.

"Ha!" shouted Shane.

"You got lucky. I'm still getting used to this," said Dex annoyed. Three tries later, he still couldn't get the ball past Shane. "Oh, come on!"

"Four times in a row. I thought turians had better aim," he teased.

"I want another shot!"

"Let, Lirien have a turn, Dexicus," shouted Vilnus.

"Yeah, Li hasn't had a try yet," said Shane.

"Li?" asked Lirien confused.

"He likes nicknaming people," said Dex.

"Oh," said Lirien.

"C'mon, Li, your turn," said Shane as he tossed the ball to his new friend. Lirien fumbled with the ball a bit before catching it. He set it down in front of him and took a few steps back. He looked at Shane and then at the ball. He then took a couple of steps towards the ball. He brought his foot down seeming to aim to Shane's left but suddenly shot the ball to his right. Shane dove the wrong way, missing the ball completely.

"Nice shot," congratulated Shane.

"How did you do that?" asked Dex.

"I made him think I was aiming one way then shot another."

"A fake-out. You're a quick learner," Shane complimented.

"Show me how you did that," said Dex.

"Okay," said Li.

* * *

An hour and a half later, Linora arrived to pick up Shane.

"Hi, Mom!" greeted Shane as she approached him and his friends.

"Hi, sweetie. Who's this?" she asked looking at Li.

"This is Li. We met him when my soccer ball hit his head."

"Shane, I thought I told you-"

"That was my fault, Miss Denei," said Dex. "Shane didn't do it."

"Oh. Well, I hope you wren't hurt too badly, Li."

"I'm okay," said Li. "Does Shane have to go now?"

"I'm afraid so," said Linora. "C'mon, Shane let's go." They started to walk away when Li stopped them.

"Wait!" he called to them. "You forgot your ball!" He handed it to him but Shane didn't take it.

"Keep it," said Shane. "I have another one."

"You mean it?" asked Li.

"Yeah."

"Um, thanks. See you later."

"See ya. Bye, Dex."

"Bye, Shane!" shouted Dex. Shane and Linora got into the skycar and headed home.

"That was nice of you to give Li your ball," said Linora.

"He's really good at soccer. I thought he would like it."

"Well, it was a nice thought. So you hungry?" Shane nodded. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Pizza!" Linora rolled her eyes.

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Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

I attempt to explain a schooling environment in this one! Tell me how I did.

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Chapter 4

**December 6, 2170**

Linora parked in front of the school.

"Bye, Mom," said Shane as he got out of the skycar. He swung his backpack over his shoulder.

"See you later, son," said Linora. She waited until Shane was inside the school before heading off to work. Shane rolled his eyes at what he thought was overprotectiveness on his mother's part. He walked down the hallway to his classroom. About half of the students had shown up. All were either turian or human. A few salarians attended the school as well, but none in Shane's class. Shane's school was an attempt to promote good relations between humans, turians, and salarians. All three species shared similar lifespans and schooling environments at least at younger ages so it made sense to make an elementary school that took advantage of this.

Shane made his way to the back of the classroom where his seat was. He tried to avoid Mark, a notorious school bully. Shane sat quietly in his seat and waited for Dex to show up. He was late today which was unusual for the normally punctual turian. Shane decided to pull up his omni-tool and play a little Commando Squad, an asari RTS game, before class started. He barely got to the main menu of the game before he was interrupted by a voice next to him.

"Hi, Shane," greeted the voice. Shane looked to his left and saw a familiar green scaled salarian standing next to his desk.

"Li?" asked Shane confused. "What are you doing here?"

"My parents felt I was being unchallenged at my old school," explained Lirien. "They sent me here and got me to skip ahead to the third grade."

"Cool," said Shane. "Now you, me, and Dex can hang out together all the time."

"Dexicus goes to school here?" asked Li.

"Yeah, he sits over there," said Shane pointing to the desk to his right. "Where does the teacher have you?"

"My parents asked her to have me sit up front," said Li sounding a bit annoyed. "They want me front and center where they know I have to pay attention. I hate being up so close. The bad kids always have to sit up front."

"Sorry, Li," said Shane, sympathetically. "Most of those kids up there aren't bad. Except for Mark, that tall blond one." He pointed to the human he described. "I heard he got held back, but don't bring it up to him!"

"So I have to sit next to the big, stupid one?"

"Dex and I got your back if he messes with you," said Shane.

"You mean it?"

"Yep. Only Dex and I can pick on you," he joked. Li looked a little worried. "I'm kidding," assured Shane.

"Oh. Well, thanks."

"No problem," said Shane.

"Hi, Shane," said Dex. The turian put sat at his desk before taking notice of Lirien. "Lirien?"

"He's in our class now," explained Shane.

"Cool," said Dex excitedly.

"I sit up front though," said Li nervously.

"You sit next to Mark?" asked Dex.

"I don't know yet," said Li.

"Well, what are the odds you'll end up next to him?" asked Shane.

"Good morning class," said the human teacher as she walked into the classroom. She noticed Lirien talking with Shane and Dexicus. "Are you Lirien?" she asked the salarian.

"Yes, ma'am," answered Lirien.

"Alright, your seat will be up here next to Mark." Lirien shot Shane a glare.

"I guess those odds were pretty good, huh?" he said. Dex sighed and shook his head. Li just went up to his desk while Shane tried to avert his death glare.

Mark gave Li no end of trouble during class. From throwing stuff at him when the teacher wasn't looking to cheating off his papers, he tormented the poor salarian. Li tried to ignore him as best he could and threatened to tell the teacher but Mark threatened to beat him up if he did. Finally, it was time for lunch. Dex and Shane sat at their usual table while Li got his food. Shane spotted Li standing in line with Mark right behind him, shoving and teasing him.

"What a jerk," said Shane. Dex looked over his shoulder to see what Shane was referring to.

"Think we ought to tell one of the teachers?" asked Dex.

"Maybe if it did any good," said Shane.

"So what do you think?" asked Dex.

"I say we give Mark a taste of his own medicine," suggested Shane.

"No, way!" said Dex. "My dad would kill me if I started picking fights. Let's just tell a teacher like we're supposed to."

"You're so turian sometimes," said Shane. Dex looked confused.

"But I am a turian," he said.

"Never mind," said Shane as he got out of his chair.

"Shane-"

"Don't stop me," said Shane putting up his hand to stop Dex from talking. Shane approached Li who was trying to get to the table. He heard Mark taunting the poor salarian.

"You geckos eat flies or-"

"Hey, lay off, Mark!" demanded Shane. Mark set his tray down on a table and stood over Shane. Mark was easily two inches taller, but Shane wasn't about to back off.

"You going to stop me, wimp?" asked Mark crossing his arms. He had a smug smile on his face that made Shane even angrier rather than scare him.

"I will if you don't leave my friend alone," threatened Shane.

"Just try," taunted Mark as he pushed Shane to the ground. Shane landed on his butt with a thud. Mark laughed as he stood over him.

"You okay, Shane?" asked Li as he set his tray down and came to his friend's side.

"Back off, gecko!" said Mark as he shoved Li aside causing the salarian to fall on his back.

"Hey!" shouted Shane. He got up and landed a solid left hook across Mark's face before the bully could react.

"What's going on here!" came the voice of the turian principal. Shane and Li turned to see Dex approaching with the principal. The dark brown scaled turian saw Mark on the ground holding his face and Shane standing over him. "You three. In my office. Now."

Shane walked into the house with Linora close behind him. Shane had managed to get him and Mark both suspended from school for a week. His mother hadn't said a word the entire ride home. Shane could only imagine what kind of punishments she was thinking up for him. It was tense. This was the first time since he was adopted that he was in deep trouble with Linora. He wasn't looking forward to what would happen.

"Kitchen. Right now." Shane almost jumped at the sudden sound of his mother's voice. He did as he was told and sat in one of the two chairs at the white round kitchen table. Linora sat across from him. Shane figured maybe a joke might ease the tension.

"So did anything-"

"Don't start with me young man," Linora interrupted.

"Sorry," said Shane quickly.

"Suspension, Shane? Really? What were you doing picking fights?"

"Mark was picking on Li!" said Shane.

"So punching him was going to fix that?"

"Mark is always picking on someone. He's hit other kids before."

"So it was just karma, huh?" asked Linora very annoyed.

"What was I supposed to do?"

"Did it occur to you to tell a teacher?"

"It occurred to Dex. He ratted me out."

"No, he was looking out for you," said Linora in Dex's defense. "You know that thing you were trying do only Dexicus did it correctly."

"What about your job? I know you've shot people who were threatening others."

"Don't you try that with me," warned Linora. "Pulling my gun is _always_ a last resort. Only to be used after every other option has been tried and failed. I've only ever had to pull a gun three times during my entire fifteen years on C-Sec." Shane just looked down trying to avoid his mother's gaze. Linora sighed and put her hands over Shane's. "Hey," she said softly. Shane looked up at her.

"I just wanted to help," he said. His voice cracked a bit as he tried not to start crying.

"I know, Shane, but thinking with your fists will always get you in trouble. Use this first," she said tapping his forehead with her finger, "before using these," she said as she rubbed his hands which he noticed were clenched into fists. "Understand?" Shane nodded. She got out of her chair, knelt by Shane and gave him a hug. "You know I love you, right?"

"Yeah," said Shane as he wiped tears from his eyes.

"Good," she said. Shane pulled away and smiled at her. "You know, for what it's worth, I saw that bruise you left on Mark. You got a good left hook."

"Really?" said Shane excitedly.

"Really. Now head upstairs and get your homework done, and no cartoons or playing outside. Your grounded until your suspension is over, understand?"

"Yes ma'am," said Shane. He went upstairs to his room leaving Linora to herself. She hated arguing with her only child but was glad it was over. However, she couldn't shake the feeling there would be more over the years. She sighed as she grabbed a drink from the fridge.

"Cross one bridge at a time, Linora. One bridge at a time."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**December 25, 2170**

Linora opened an eye to look at the clock on her bedside table. It read 8:30 a.m. Normally, she would have been at work by now and Shane would have been at school. But today was supposed to be some special human holiday. Shane's entire school got the day off so the human students could celebrate. Linora knew of a couple of non-humans trying the tradition, herself included. She got special permission from the Executor, himself, to take today off. However, she was more excited about the fact she could sleep in. She closed he eyes and pulled her blanket up so only her head was exposed. She shifted so that she was comfortable and started to drift off to sleep.

"Mom, mom, mom! Get up, get up, get up!" shouted her very excited son as he ran into her room and hopped on to her bed beside her. Linora moaned as she turned on her side so she was facing away from Shane.

"Five more minutes," she groaned.

"Mooom," whined Shane. He started to shake her vigorously. "It's Christmas. Time to open presents!"

"Is it tradition to open them so early?" she asked.

"I dunno but c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" Shane was practically bouncing at this point.

"Okay, okay," said Linora giving in. "Stop shaking the bed." She sat up and stretched her arms. "Can we eat first?" she asked.

"Okay," said Shane as he jumped off the bed and headed downstairs to the kitchen. Linora slowly followed behind him rubbing the sleep from her eyes. When she got to the kitchen, Shane had already poured himself a bowl of cereal. Linora got her own bowl and sat the table. Shane coughed as he nearly choked on the cereal he was scarfing down.

"Pace yourself, son," said Linora as she poured cereal into her bowl. Shane coughed a couple more times before eating again. He went slower this time. "So what's so special about this holiday?"

"Religion for some people," answered Shane. "Other people have a story about Santa made up for it, but I don't believe in Santa. For most people it's a time to just be with their family."

"What are the presents for?"

"Spirit of giving I think," answered Shane. "It's just a time to get something nice for someone you care about."

"I see," said Linora. "I think I'm starting to get why humans find this holiday so special. Shane just nodded as he finished his cereal. He waited for Linora to finish which seemed to take forever to him. When Linora finished, she didn't get any time to put her dishes in the sink before Shane grabbed her wrist and practically dragged her to the living room. She was about to say something when Shane spoke up.

"Wait here! I'll be right back!" said Shane excitedly. He was out of the room before Linora could respond. She had never seen Shane so excited before. She was a little confused that Shane didn't even look at his presents yet. She was sure he'd want to start opening them as soon as possible. "I'm back!" said Shane as he rushed back into the room with something in his hands almost as quickly as he left. He sat on the couch and patted the cushion next to him. "Sit down," he told her.

"What is that?" said Linora pointing at the wrapped object in his hands.

"Sit down first!" he said excitedly.

"Okay, okay, calm down," she told him. She chuckled at her son's giddiness. She sat next to him and he shoved the object into her hands. It was small, thin, and square-shaped. It was poorly wrapped in red wrapping paper. "What is it?"

"It's for you!" said Shane. "Open it up." Linora did as she was told and unwrapped the gift. It was a portrait in a simple wooden frame. She gasped when she saw what it was. The picture was of her and Shane. More importantly, it was the very first picture the two of them ever took together. It was a picture of the first time they went to that pizza joint where Linora first had the human food. Linora had gotten the waiter to take a holo of the two of them to commemorate the moment. .

"You like it?" asked Shane.

"Oh, sweetheart, I love it," said Linora. She kissed him on the top of his head, and hugged him tight. "How did you get it framed?" she asked.

"I saved up my allowance. I got Mr. Vilnus to take me to get a framed copy. I only had enough to get that small one," he said a little ashamed.

"I'm glad I gave you that raise in your allowance," said Linora. "And I don't mind that it's small. I can keep it on my desk in my office now." She gave him another kiss as she put her arm around his shoulder. "Thank you, Shane. This is easily the best gift I have ever gotten."

"You mean it?" asked Shane.

"Absolutely. You spent your own money on this for me. I can't tell you what that means to me."

"Spirit of giving, Mom."

"Indeed. Well, I have my present. Time to open yours."

"Okay," said Shane as he got off the couch. Linora smiled as Shane opened his presents, loving each one. Linora looked at the portrait again and smiled. She could get used to this holiday.

* * *

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to all my readers!


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